Pathetic

I traveled to the Palm beaches to race, only to discover that those in charge of the marathon of the Palm beaches events have some pathetic views regarding running. They admitted that they did not care about the 5k, as evidenced by only awarding top 3 overall male & female & nothing but finisher medals to all the peasants to paid for the top dog's prizes & the profits of the staff. They stated their main focus was on the half & full marathon. Note that PR racing originated the idea of both & also, respects all the participants. Yes, I was a victim, being 7th overall & 1st master (if it were offered) but yet received no honor or respect. My dad protest races that disrespects participants & rightly skipped this entire weekend; he knew something I didn't. Although not stated as such, neither online nor in print, it was apparently a fun run, unless you are an elite runner. All of us suckers didn't find out directly, but rather through the grapevine. We kept asking, "when are you gonna start the awards ceremony?" and were told that the announcement of the overall winners was all we were gonna get for our hard earned money. This 5k is now a must-don't!

The main event-marathon of the Palm beaches marathon (relay)

This year, my duties as team captain/coach were tested. I was not able to get my fastest teammate from last year's 5k 5 person team. Worse, Caroline, top 3 female finisher of last year, and my dad (not a team member but was scheduled to race) couldn't make it due to personal reasons, so in regards to the team, I had to find a substitute.

I acquired long time friend & most famous running nutritionist, Lisa Dorfman, as a teammate. Chris Choing was joined me again & is the only member to team with me in all three marathon of the Palm beaches team events! Lisa found an excellent replacement, someone I didn't recall by name but I trusted her judgement & she didn't let me down; Steve Brookner performed admirably. Our combined efforts earned us second spot in the mixed category, since the race director invited Bill Rodgers not only to be a guest but also paid him & his teammates to compete & win the co-ed division. We equalled our team name- All 4 run -& managed to beat 23 other teams in the category. The day was a bit dampened by the fact that no awards were given out, other than for overall & to friends;I should've seen that comin'. Nonetheless, we did our best & had lots of fun in the process.

The only positive, besides the obvious (team victory), were receiving medals for finishing. Those medals, however, pale in comparison to Miami's.